Finley Bizjack scored 18 points, Michael Ajayi tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds and Butler never trailed in a 79-72 win over South Carolina to begin the Greenbrier Tip-Off on Friday in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
Ajayi recorded his fifth straight double-double to begin the season for Butler (4-1), which dominated inside. The Bulldogs scored 42 of their points in the paint and controlled the boards 48-29, with 15 offensive rebounds leading to 23 second-chance points.
Jamie Kaiser scored 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting and Jalen Jackson added 10 for Butler.
Meechie Johnson paced South Carolina (4-1) with 24 points, while Mike Sharavjamts and Eli Ellis added 13 apiece.
Ajayi had a flashy fastbreak dunk with five minutes to go, and when Kaiser made a corner three at 3:07 for a 72-60 advantage, the game appeared to be decided.
Ellis made a layup, and on the next possession he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. The free throws cut the margin to seven, only for Bizjack to hit a three with 2:11 left.
The Gamecocks were down eight in the final 30 seconds and missed a pair of 3-point tries but got the rebound each time. On their third attempt, Johnson buried the shot and was fouled from behind.
With 15 seconds left and the score 77-72, Johnson missed the foul shot on purpose but his teammates couldn’t recover the rebound.
Both teams needed time to feel out the ballroom setting at the Greenbrier. They combined to miss the first 10 3-point tries of the day before Johnson had some space and buried one 10:10 into the game.
That shot cut South Carolina’s deficit to 17-15, but Butler then embarked on a 10-0 run capped when Ajayi blocked Johnson’s shot and Kaiser took it the other way for a layup.
The Gamecocks clawed their way back within two before Butler ended the half on a 7-2 run to stake a 38-31 lead.
Kaiser and Jackson threw down consecutive fastbreak dunks early in the second half, the first off a steal and acrobatic step to stay in bounds, the next off a defensive board. Butler led by as many as 15 before the Gamecocks fought back.
The multi-team event is not a traditional, bracketed tournament. Butler will face Virginia and South Carolina will play Northwestern on Sunday regardless of Friday’s second result between the Cavaliers and Wildcats.
